Cotton-seed culler.



B. BOWERS & 0. H. FRANKLIN.

COTTON SEED cULLB'Rj APPLICATION FILED 0OT.11. 1909.

Patented May 2, 1911.

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APPLIOATION FILED 0OT.11. 1909.

991 ,418. Patented May 2,1911.

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B. BOWERS & 0. H. FRANKLIN.

COTTON SEED GULLBB.

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COTTON SEED OULLER.

APPLICATION FILED OOT.ll. 1909.

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COTTON SEED GULLER.

APPLICATION TILED 00T.11. 1909.

991,418. Patented May 2,1911

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pirnn s'rA'rEs PATENT onrion.

BYRON BOWERS AND OLIVER H. FRANKLIN, OF CANON, GEORGIA, ASSIGNORS T0COTTON SEED AND COTTON IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION, OF BIRMINGHAM, ALA-BAMA, A CORPORATION OF ARIZONA TERRITORY. i

COTTON-SEED CULLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, BYRON Bownns and OLIVER H. FRANKLIN, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Canon, in the county of Franklin andState of Georgia, have in vented certain new and useful Improvements inCotton-Seed Cullers; and we do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invent-ion, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

This invention relates to cotton seed cullers, and has for an object toprovide a mechanism for culling cotton seed to remove not only thesticks, stones and other foreign matter, but also to remove light, smalland undeveloped seeds.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a cotton seed cullermeans for discharging cotton seed intermittently into a rotary screen orgrader adapted to permit the cotton seed to pass through but to preventthe passage of foreign matter larger than the seed, to deliver the seedinto other rotary screens provided with perforations of such extent asto permit small dirt and foreign matter, together with small undevelopedcotton seeds to pass through, to deposit the seed which does not passthrough the screen in front of an air blast to throw out the full sizedbut light seed and to conduct the remaining or perfect seed to a spoutas desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for intermittentlydischarging the seed into the first rotary screen and to furtherdischarge the seed from such first screen alternately into the latterscreens.

Vi ith these and other objects in view, the invention comprises certainnovel constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts as will behereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a view of the preferred form of cullershown in side elevation. Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the preferredembodiment of the culler. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view as on line33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4c is an end view of the culler as on arrow 4: ofFigs. 1, 2 and 3. Fig. 5 is a vertical, sectional view of the improvedculler as on line 5-5 of Figs. 1 and 3. Fig. 6 is a vertical,transverse, sectional view as on line 6-6 of Figs. 1 and 3.

Like characters of reference designate cor responding parts throughoutthe several views.

As a support for the mechanism a frame 20 is employed carried uponanyapproved form of base as the legs 21, the end pieces of the frame 20being bowed upwardly as indicated at 22 in Figs. 4 and 5, and formingbearings for a shaft 23 disposed substantially horizontally and rotatedin any approved manner as by a belt or band pulley 2 1. Mounted rigidlyupon and rotating with the shaft 23 is a frusto-conical screen 25 eX-tending somewhat less than half the length of the shaft 23 and with itslarger or lower end disposed to discharge material outwardly over theend of the machine. Surrounding the screen 25 is a frusto-conical drum26 similarly inclined but with its larger or lower end disposed over atrough 27 into which seed discharged through the orifices of the screen25 into the drum 26 is discharged. At its smaller end the drum 26 isprovided with a funnel 28 having both ends open and the smaller end inposition to receive seed from a spout 29 at the bottom of a hopper 30supported upon the frame 20 by saddles 81, and through which the shaft23 extends. The hopper 30 is preferably located substantially midway ofthe frame 20 and a sleeve 32 is mounted within such hopper rotatablymovable upon and embracing the shaft 28 and provided with a feed worm 33adapted to discharge material from the hopper 30 through the trough 29into the funnel 28 from which it is discharged into the screen 25.

Below the frame 20 a plurality of rotating screens 47 are journaled uponshafts 4L8 disposed in an inclined position having their upper ends journaled in the frame piece 4.9 vertically movable 'upon guide rods 50and controlled by a screw-threaded rod 51 and threaded hand wheel 52whereby the 'elevation of such upper ends may be varied. From the trough27 spouts 53 are arranged to discharge material into the screens 47 andmeans for discharging it alternately into the screens 47 is provided inthe pusher 5 1 slidably mounted within the trough 27 and controlled bymeans of a pitman 55 driven from a crank wheel 56 carried upon one ofthe shafts 48. It will thus be seen that as the shaft 4:8 rotates thepusher 54 is moved its screen 47 is driven from the driven shaft 4:8 bymeans of a belt or band 60 embracing the pulley 59 and also a similarpulley 61 upon the other of the shafts 48.

It will thus be seen that as the shaft 23 is rotated by reason of thebands 57 and 60 the screens 47 are rotated and receiving material fromthe trough 27 as described operates upon the material contained therein.At their lower ends the screens 4L7 discharge material into a hopper 62which falling downwardly passes in front of an opening 63 through whichan air blast is projected from a fan 64 contained in the fan housing 65.The fan 64 is mounted upon a shaft 166 provided with a pulley 167 drivenby a band 168 from a large pulley 169 car ried upon and rotated with theshaft 23. Material not blown outwardly through the opening 63 by the fan64 drops down into a spout 66 from whence it is finally discharged.

The holes or openings in the screen 25 are of such dimension as'topermit all cotton seed to pass therethrough but to prevent the passageof sticks, stones and the like which are larger than the seed which saidsticks and stones are discharged from the large end of the screen 25while the seeds passing through such screen are discharged by the drum26 into the trough 27. From the trough 27 the seed thus discharged isintermittently fed into the screens 47 the openings in which are of suchdimension as to prevent mature seed passing therethrough but to permitthe passage of small dirt, small stones and immature seeds. Some of theseed of full size but immature and, therefore, light, will be passed thelength of the screens 47 and finally discharged into the hopper 62 wherepassing in front of the air blast they will be blown out and dischargedthrough the opening 63 so that only the mature and good seeds finallyreach and are discharged from the spout 66.

hat we claim is e 1. In a cotton seed culler, a screen mounted torotate, means to feed material into the screen, other screens mounted torotate adjacent the first-mentioned screen and disposed at aninclination, and means to receive material passed through thefirstmentioned screen and conduct it alternately into the last-mentionedscreens.

2. In a cotton seed culler, a screen mounted to rotate, means to feedmaterial into the screen, a pair of screens mounted adjacent thefirst-mentioned screen, and

means to conduct material passing through the first-mentioned screenalternately into the second-mentioned screens.

3. The combination with a rotarily mounted screen, of means to feedmaterialv into such screens, other screens mounted to rotate in positionto receive material from the first-mentioned screen, and means todischarge material from the first screen in series alternately to thenext screens.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

BYRON BOVVERS. OLIVER H. FRANKLIN.

Witnesses I. M. S'ronR, FRANK DURDIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G.

